Brazil has often been characterized as the country with the
largest income inequality in the world. According to the World Bank's
World Development Index (2002), Brazil is certainly among the top in the world
based upon the following table. Thus, the bottom 20% could only
collect 2.2% of the total income while the top 20% garnered 64.1% of the total
income. Such a level of income inequality would mean that there are many
desperately destitute people who are living under subsistence conditinos.

Countries with
greatest inequality

Lowest 20%

Highest 20%

1. Sierra
Leone

1.1%

63.4%

2. Central
African Republic

2.0

65.0

3. Swaziland

2.7

64.4

4. Brazil

2.2

64.1

5. Nicaragua

2.3

63.6

6. South
Africa

2.9

64.8

7. Paraguay

1.9

60.7

8. Colombia

3.0

60.9

9. Chile

3.3

61.0

10. Honduras

2.2

59.4

However, in spite of this high degree of income inequality,
there is fortunately no sign of mass starvation. One reason is that the
overall income level of Brazil is still relatively high in the world, so that
even the lowest income earners get subsist. Another reason is that there
is a good safety net, whether this is through official channels, or
non-government organizations, or just through the kindness of neighbors and
strangers. The subject of this article is about individual charity
donations in Brazil.

Here we are going to quote some paragraphs from an article by
Georffrey Biddulph on Brazil's
Poor:

They surround my car at most traffic lights in Brazil, an
army of barely dressed, shoeless indigent, many of them with stumps for arms
and legs. They shuffle or walk on crutches or roll in crude wheel chairs from
car to car asking for money. If you give them the equivalent of a dime, they
will smile and say, “God Bless you.” If you give them the equivalent of a
quarter, their faces become radiant.

They are some of Brazil’s most desperate poor. Barefoot,
shirtless five-year-olds juggle faded tennis balls. Rail-thin mothers slink
from window to window with their newborn babies. Men with barely functioning
limbs collect money with skeletal hands. Other men without legs or a means of
getting a wheelchair travel dangerously below the traffic on dirty
skateboards, stretching filthy arms up to window level in search of a handout.

...

There are many different strategies for dealing with the
constant beggars. Most of the foreigners I know simply do their best to ignore
them. Most wealthy Brazilians I know don’t want to risk rolling down their
windows to give them money (many a beggar has been known to snatch an earring
or watch from a driver through an open window). But I know plenty of people
who give all the time. They place spare change in a handy pocket and give it
out like candy as they walk the streets.

We will now refer to some survey data from the 2003 TGI Brasil
study. This is a survey of 10,624 persons between the ages of 12 to 64
years old interviewed during 2003. The survey respondents were presented
with the statement "I almost always give money to the less fortunate on the
street" and 33% of them said they either completely agree or somewhat agree
with it.

We would not expect the agree rate to be uniform across
socio-demographic groups. However, it is not obvious what we should be
expecting. On one hand, this is about giving away one's own
resources. So perhaps we would expect that only people who have the means
of giving can give. In other words, we would expect charity donations to
increase with the ability to give (i.e. affluence). On the other hand,
this is about class solidarity. Unless one has experienced the hardship
and pain of poverty, one is less compelled to give.

In the following chart, we show the agree rates by
socio-economic level and monthly household income. Thus, it is the poor
who is more likely to give to other poor people. How about that for
solidarity?

(Source: 2003 TGI Brasil)

Unfortunately, the TGI Brazil study does not have a question
about who is a bleeding heart liberal. However, if we believe that
"men are from Mars and women are from Venus", we may expect to see
different attitudes towards charitable donations. The following chart
shows the agree rates by age/sex group. Among men, there is an inverted
U-shaped relationship, whereas the women has a J-shaped relationship. It
is interesting that among the oldest people (54-64), women suddenly become much
more charitable than the men.